The UN has undertaken a series of steps to push Libya beyond the uneasy stability imposed by the militias. Together with Plan B, an economic-military-political package could provide the means to do so.
In recent years, Iran's conventional military, the Artesh, has been sidelined as the IRGC amasses greater power and influence. This article explains the Artesh's current status and places it within Iran's current military doctrine.
Richard Russell analyzes the changes in the Iranian military after the 1979 revolution, particularly after the Iran-Iraq war. Russell contends that despite having been the most highly developed military in the region prior to the Islamic Revolution, the war with Iraq had a lasting effect on the Iranian military which it still has not recovered from.
This Policy Brief examines the real and imagined influence of al-Qa‘ida in North Africa and the Sahel. Despite a perception of the transnationalization of terrorist movements in North Africa under al-Qa‘ida’s banner, robust evidence of an effective al-Qa‘ida’s expansion in the Maghreb and the Sahara/Sahel region remains elusive at best. Rather, doubts about al-Qa‘ida’s actual threat and the efficacy of international response in the context of pervasive state failure in the Sahel raise questions regarding the policy objectives of US-led counter-terrorism in the region.
Information seized by American forces in Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad has sparked questions about Bin Laden’s involvement in the planning and current strategy behind al-Qaeda operations in places like Yemen.
For decades, Egypt was politically predictable and unchanging. As in past centuries, it seemed again to be ruled by Pharaohs who wielded huge power over a passive public.
Half a century after independence and two decades since the liberation from Iraqi occupation, Kuwait’s bitter experience with pan-Arabism and ongoing regional power plays have affected its growth.
Pakistan faces a multitude of challenges. Some regard Pakistan as a country in crisis. Whether Pakistan emerges from crisis or sinks deeper into it is of critical importance to the United States. This Policy Brief explores the sources of the "trust deficit" between the United States and Pakistan and recommends steps that the two governments can take to build an enduring partnership that serves their respective and common interests.